Dental School Names New Associate Dean for Research

Richard Jordan, DDS, PhD, has been appointed the new associate dean for research in the UCSF School of Dentistry. The appointment will be effective May 1, 2009. Jordan will replace John Greenspan, BDS, PhD, who has stepped down after years of outstanding service in this role.

The associate dean for research is directly responsible to the dean for the oversight of research and graduate affairs in the School of Dentistry. Jordan will work with the dean, the other associate deans, the department chairs and others to maintain the school's overall success in fulfilling its research mission. His role as associate dean for research will be carried out in conjunction with his current faculty and division chair positions in the Department of Orofacial Sciences.

Jordan is professor of oral pathology in the School of Dentistry and professor of pathology in the School of Medicine. After earning a DDS degree in 1986, Jordan engaged in specialty training in oral pathology and oral medicine and earned a master of science degree in oral pathology, all at the University of Toronto. He then went on to earn a PhD degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of London, examining early molecular biomarkers of lymphoma development. He was a faculty member at the University of Toronto from 1995 to 2000 before relocating to UCSF.

Jordan is currently chair of the Division of Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology at UCSF and is director of the Oral Pathology Diagnostic Laboratory. Jordan and his research group are studying oral precancer and cancer, specifically the biomarkers of oral cancer development and prognosis.

He has authored more than 100 research publications, reviews and book chapters. One of his books is the most widely used oral pathology textbook in the world. He has had 14 years of continuous extramural funding from several major research organizations, including the Medical Research Council, National Cancer Institute of Canada and National Institutes of Health.

Jordan is co-leader of the Head and Neck Oncology Program at UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. For his contributions to the field of pathology, he was awarded a prestigious fellowship in the Royal College of Pathologists.